Floor unit air-conditioner



June 22, 1954 w, DRAGER 2,681,609

FLOOR UNITAIR-CONDITIONER Filed Dec. 3, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNE z June 22, 1954 .w, DRAGER FLOOR UNIT AIR-CONDITIONER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1951 .J W Z aw w ,7

INVENTOR.

Patented June 22, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOOR UNIT AIR-CONDITIONER Wayne Drager, San Fernando, Calif.

1 Application December 3, 1951, Serial No. 259,615

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved floor unit air-conditioner and has for one of its principal objects the provision of an air-conditioning 'unit which will provide permanent installation in a residence or home and which will produce cool humidified air circulation from under the house.

One of the important objects of this invention is to provide a means for cooling and humidifying the air in a building, which means is preferably installed in the floor of the building and which includes the use of water circulating through a porous pad for cooling purposes and wherein any surplus water can be readily drained 01f into a sewerage line or the like at a level below the lowermost point of the cooler.

A.further object of the invention is to provide in a cooler and air conditioner of the class described, a motor driven fan which will produce an intake of air into the evaporatorpads of the cooler, whereby the air is washed, humidified and reduced intemperature for subsequent introduction into the house itself.

Stillanother important object of the invention resides in the provision of an air-ccnditioni,

ing unit which, as a unit, can be readily installed in thefloor of the ordinary residence and without disturbing any portions of the usual or regular construction and which will bring in its supply oiair from under the house, which air is ordinarily cooler than the air adjacent other portions of the house, such as the sides or roof.

Yet another object is the provision in a floor cooler and evaporator of an improved structure for retaining the excelsior or other pads which areadapted to be moistened and through which the air to be cooled is drawn.

Other and further important objects of the invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings and following specification.

The-invention, in a preferred form, is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a detailed view, partly in section, showing the improved fioor level air-conditioning unit of this invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated.

Figure 4 is a detailed view illustrating a part of the frame construction which retains the air moistening pads.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the air moistening pads.

Figure 6 is a detailed perspective view illustrating a portion of the trough by means of which circulating water is allowed to dribble through the moistening pads.

Figure 7 is a detailed view, partly in section, and parts broken away, illustrating a slightly modified form of the invention.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates generally a portion of the floor of a building or room into which is built the improved air-conditioning unit of this invention. The floor is supported by the usual joists or stringers [2. A grille I4, approximately square in shape, is mounted under an opening cut into the floor for the purpose of allowing the cooled air to be forced into the room.

Installed directly under the grille I l and supported by the edges of the opening in the floor, is a metallic casing l6 of rectangular shape as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and which in turn is provided with a shoulder it, having a downward flange 20 therein. Mounted in this opening is a fan 22, driven by a motor 24. Current is supplied to the motor by means of wires in. a conduit 26 and controlled by a switch 28, operated by a stem which projects upwardly through a portion .of the grille M. This stem is preferably turned by means of a removable key which can be kept in a location convenient to the conditioning unit. Other means of supplying current to the motor may be employed, as will be obvious.

The speed of the motor can be governed by a rheostat switch or other means and the motor itself is mounted in a hanger or frame comprising a metal strap portion 4| extending from one face of the frame to an adjacent face as best shown in Figure 2. This is held in position by bolts or the like 43. A complementary strap element 45 cooperates with the strap 4| clamped to the motor by means of bolts and nuts 41, whereby the motor and fan can be readily removed from the frame allowing dismantling of the parts when necessary.

Mounted below the motor and fan assembly is an open framework, preferably composed of fabricated galvanized sheet metal and generally in the shape of a rectangular parallelepipedon, as best illustrated at 30 in Figures 1 and 4.

This structure is open at the sides and top, but is provided with a bottom 32 which drains toward its center as best shown in Figure 1. A drain pipe 34 leads from an opening in the center of the bottom to a sewer or other disposal pipe 36.

Adapted to be fitted into the sides of the boxlike frame 30, is a plurality of water absorbent pads 40, as shown in Figure 5. These are four in number and are preferably constructed of excelsior or some other suitable material which will readily absorb and as readily part with a considerable quantity of water, rendering evaporation efiicient and satisfactory.

The framework 30 and the pads to are so designed both as to shape and contour, in that two of the longer pads are preliminarily placed in the framework and then the shorter pads are positioned in the ends as indicated by the dotted line in Figure 3, producing a locking arrangement which assures a proper positioning of the pads in the structure and a subsequent desirable operation at all times.

In order to replace the water absorbent pads 40, all that is necessary is to remove the motor and fan by takingoff the semi-circular strap 45, which is held in place by the bolts 61 on the frame 4|. When the motor and fan are thus lifted out of the top of the structure, the pads 40 can be easily replaced as the entire lower part of the frame is then immediately and readily accessible.

Extending around the upper periphery of the framework 3!), is a trough or series of troughs 42, as best shown in Figures 1 and 6. These are shaped as shown and have perforations 44 in their sloping bottoms so as to allow of a suitable and desired quantity of water to be delivered to the tops of the pads 46, whence it gradually penetrates and permeates the pads, keeping the same desirably moist at all times during the entire operation. Water is supplied to the troughs 42 through an inlet pipe at, controlled by a valve 48, which can be operated by the same key provided for the current controlling switch stem 60. This key preferably fits a stem 52 incorporated into the water valve 48. Any excess water will be drained off over the sloping botprovided on one side of the wall and a further grille 56, with an adjustable shutter 58, is provided on the other side of the wall and'in juxtaposed relationship. As will be noted, the shutters leading to either room can be entirely open or closed orintermediate positions can be adopted, depending upon conditions and the desires of the occupants.

It is evident that herein is provided an airconditioning unit for residences, which is admirably adapted for smaller homes in that it is simple of construction, economical in operation and not too expensive to install. Additionally, all the parts are relatively simple, replacements are easy and the entire structure is so built that nothing is at all likely to get out of order. The fact that the air is drawn in from under the house provides an additional advantage, particularly in homes which have no basement, but

which are built a few feet off the ground. The air under such buildings is always relatively cool, thereby providing an added immediate advantage in operation so far as reduction in temperature of the interior of the building is concerned. The amount of water flowing through the absorbent pads can be readily controlled so that waste is reduced to a minimum while a high efficiency is always maintained.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A floor unit air-conditioner comprising an open box-like framework adapted to be inserted in an opening in'the floor of a room, a grille for the floor opening, a motor and fan mounted beneath the grille, water evaporating pads re movably positioned in the framework; a source of current for the motor, a source of water supply for the pads, manual control means for the current and water sources, said control means positioned in the grille, a bottom for the open framework, a drainage pipe in the bottom, water distribution troughs in the framework above the pads, said water distribution troughs having perforated sloping bottoms and extending around the upper periphery of the framework, the absorent pads being of a size and contour to be removably fitted into and interlocked with each other in-the rectangular framework, said framework composed of angles.

2. A floor air-conditioning unit for rooms comprising an open box-like frame, water absorb-' ing pads positioned in the sides of the frameadrainage bottom in the frame, water distribut ing troughs in the top of the frame around the periphery thereof and adjacent the upper edges of the absorbent pads, valve means for supply ing water to the troughs in regulated quantities, means for fastenin the framework and pads beneath the floor of a building, a motor driven fan above the framework but beneath the floor, said floor having an opening therein and grillework in the opening, means in the grille-work for controlling the operation of the motor and' water valve, adjustable shutters in the grille work, said grillework extending up to and forming a portion of a wall of the room adjacent the opening in the floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 20,1949. 

